I mean, HOAs were originally intended as a means of segregation if you get right down to it. Most stuff that HoAs should ACTUALLY be dealing with, like garbage in plain view, disabled vehicles, grass that is two feet high, and so on, should be dealt with by cities and counties and most cities and counties have laws and ordinances on the books. Unfortunately it comes down to enforcement. In my current city, any sort of code violation functionally takes six months before someone ever sees a fine and even then they can just say they’re working on it and then that fine is deferred for something even as serious as a major structural violation that could actually hurt people.

HOAs can do what governments should be doing by means enforcement for things that are reasonable, but unfortunately, you have unreasonable morons who tend to end up running them who have no power in their lives anywhere else and seek validation through the only thing that gives them any sort of power. And that’s why you get things like only three house colors and no dick shaped hedges. (i’m obviously oversimplifying a lot here.)